President George W. Bush and his director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, are telling the American people that an unaccountable executive branch is necessary for their protection. Without the Protect America Act, Bush and McConnell claim, the executive...
Satellite Shootdown Fuels Fears of New Space Race
Independent arms-control critics here say that Wednesday's successful strike by a missile launched from a US warship in the Pacific Ocean of a dying spy satellite will add to growing fears in Russia and China that Washington is determined to assert military dominance...
Friday: 1 US Soldier, 30 Iraqis, 5 Turkish Soldiers, 24 PKK Killed; 39 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 8:50 p.m. EST, Feb. 22, 2008At least 30 Iraqis were killed and another 39 were wounded during increased violence. Meanwhile, an American soldier died of a non-combat illness, and several GIs were wounded during a bombing in Balad. Hostilities at the Turkish...
No End in Sight: Iraq’s Descent into Chaos
No End in Sight: Iraq's Descent into Chaos Charles H. Ferguson PublicAffairs, 2008 640 pp. As is typical in Washington, the administration has solved the crisis in Iraq by redefining success. No longer is the goal a liberal, multi-ethnic nation ready to lead the rest...
End the Cuban Embargo
Celebrate Good Times Whenever a bloodthirsty dictator resigns or, even better, dies, I pause to celebrate. I would have celebrated at Hitler's death had I been alive then. Ditto Stalin. And I did celebrate when Mao died. I look forward to Fidel Castro's death....
Overstretched Forces Concern US Officers
The US military is "severely strained" by two large-scale occupations in the Middle East, other troop deployments, and problems recruiting, according to a new survey of military officers published by Foreign Policy magazine and the centrist think-tank Center...
US Reactions To Pakistan Election Results Mixed
Forty-eight hours after Pakistani voters overwhelmingly repudiated the Bush administrations "man in Islamabad," President Pervez Musharraf, Washington seemed uncertain about whether the election results marked a setback to U.S. strategic interests or...
Iraq Unemployment Too Becomes an Epidemic
For a few, salaries have soared. For the rest, unemployment has. Many Iraqi workers enjoyed huge salary increases following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. But unemployment rose more sharply under policies introduced by the Coalition Provisional Authority...
Thursday: 2 GIs, 38 Iraqis Killed; 16 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 1:26 a.m. EST, Feb. 22, 2008As the country awaits news on whether Shi'ite Moqtada al-Sadr will extend his ceasefire, at least 38 Iraqis were killed and another 16 were wounded in the latest attacks. New developments at the Turkish border also occurred....
How Never to Withdraw
From Iraq
Think of the top officials of the Bush administration as magicians when it comes to Iraq. Their top hats and tails may be worn and their act fraying, but it doesn't seem to matter. Their latest "abracadabra," the president's "surge strategy" of 2007, has still worked...


